Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 20,635 Shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its holdings in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 114,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,635 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Cintas were worth $23,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,544,822,000 after acquiring an additional 219,809 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $935,146,000 after purchasing an additional 296,059 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $877,216,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Cintas by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $743,048,000 after purchasing an additional 472,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,655,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $667,919,000 after acquiring an additional 115,268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other news, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total transaction of $380,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 256,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,647,979.84. The trade was a 23.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTAS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Cintas from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $171.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Cintas from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Cintas in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $215.81.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $222.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $89.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.58, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $213.38 and a 200-day moving average of $205.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Cintas Co. has a 52 week low of $169.96 and a 52 week high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. Cintas’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

Cintas Profile

Cintas Corporation engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms and related business services primarily in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other segments. The company rents and services uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items; and provides restroom cleaning services and supplies, as well as sells uniforms.